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Thursday, March 15, 2012

Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole

This is my sixth month participating in the Improv Cooking Challenge which is hosted by Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker. As always I looked forward to participating and finding or coming up with a great recipe which included the two theme ingredients. This month the participating bloggers were asked to make any recipe of their choosing using the two given ingredients of potatoes & cheese. I knew immediately what I was going to make as this recipe has been a favorite in our home for a few years and as I haven’t made it in ages nor have I ever posted the recipe to my blog, well it was time to make it. Back the end of 2006 when we first brought Maisie home, not only was I very sick but she wanted no part of me putting her down or leaving her so that I could cook. Because we still needed to eat, I started going one night every month or so to one of those kitchens where in two hours you partially prepared twelve meals and then you brought them home to your freezer. When dinner time would roll around all I would have to do was take my prepared items and quickly cook them. It was nice because we were eating real food that I had previously prepped, but at home I had virtually no clean-up and my time in the kitchen was mere minutes. This recipe was inspired by one of the meals I once prepared in that kitchen but through the years I’ve changed and adapted the recipe to suite our tastes and this is the version I have been making for a few years.

Preheat oven to 500F (This is NOT a typo, 500F is correct!) In a large bowl mix together the olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder & hot sauce. Add the cubed potatoes and stir to coat. Carefully scoop the potatoes into a cooking spray coated 9 x 13 inch baking dish, leaving behind as much of the olive oil/hot sauce mix as possible. Bake the potatoes for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until cooked through and crispy & browned on the outside. While the potatoes are cooking, add the cubed chicken to the bowl with the leftover olive oil/hot sauce mix and stir to coat. Once the potatoes are fully cooked, remove from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 400F. Top the cooked potatoes with the raw marinated chicken. In a bowl mix together the cheese, bacon & green onion and top the raw chicken with the cheese mix. Return the casserole to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the topping is bubbly delicious. Serve with extra hot sauce and/or ranch dressing.

Thanks for checking out my entry in the Improv challenge. This looks yummy. I LOVE blue cheese, especially with Buffalo chicken, so I bet it would be awesome to use a little blue cheese in the cheese mixture.

I made this today and it relish. I worried it'd be too oily with the cheese but it really wasn't. It did take mea good extra 30 minutes to cook the chicken though. Next time I think I'll cook the chicken separately, add to potatoes and then just broil to melt the cheese.

Debi, you may be putting raw chicken on the cooked potatoes but you're then cooking everything so whatever raw touched the potatoes is fully cooked. It's really no different that sauteing onions then adding raw meat and browning the meat with the already cooked onions. If you really have a problem with it, cook the chicken separately, put it on the cooked potatoes and then add the topping and just melt it under the broiler. Good luck.

I am interested in making this for my family, my husband and i have a low tolerance for spicy foods.....this calls for 6 T. Of hot sauce, i am thinking this is pretty spicy??? Is there a way to cut down on the hot sauce somewhat and still get the amount of liquid needed? Thank you for your help

The recipe as written really isn't all that spicy but if you are concerned I would use half the amount of hot sauce and ketchup to make up the remainder. I hope that you'll come back and let me know how it turns out. Good luck.

Wonderful recipe. Made just as written the first time and it was a hit. I have made several times using BBQ sauce in place of the hot sauce. Today I'm using a Carolina mustard BBQ sauce hoping to get a good result :) Thank you for a great recipe base.

Wonderful recipe. Made just as written the first time and it was a hit. I have made several times using BBQ sauce in place of the hot sauce. Today I'm using a Carolina mustard BBQ sauce hoping to get a good result :) Thank you for a great recipe base.

Wonderful recipe!!!! Made exactly as written the first time and was a huge hit. The second time I got adventurous and used BBQ sauce in place of the hot sauce and it worked out great. Today I'm making it with a Carolina mustard BBQ sauce hoping for the same great result. Thank you for a great recipe!!!

Hi there, you said above the recipe you thought of this when making meals to freeze, would you recommend preparing it all the way and then freezing it or making up to the cooked potatoes and then leaving the chicken and everything raw and freezing?

I generally make this recipe completely then I portion it into individual portions and freeze them so that I can easily defrost, heat and serve.

I have also made this in a disposable aluminum pan, cooked the potatoes completely, allowed them to cool, added the raw chicken and topped with the cheese/bacon mix, covered and froze and then defrosted completely and finished cooking in the oven and that too works wonderfully. I'm telling you, this is such an easy and forgiving recipe so no matter what way you go you'll have great results. The only thing to make sure that you do is cook the potatoes fully before adding the chicken and when you finish the cooking process, just make sure that your chicken is fully cooked. I hope that you'll give it a try and let me know how it works out. Enjoy!

This looks amazing! I'd like to make it for my toddler daughter, though, and I'm not sure she'd like the hot sauce. Can you leave the hot sauce out or substitute something else? I saw suggestions for BBQ sauce or ketchup. Would anything else be ok to use? Or could it just be left out entirely? Thanks!

Thank you and I hope that you do make it for you and your daughter. In the past, before we learned of her food allergies, my daughter Maisie ate this and she was fine with the small amount of heat in the recipe but if you are concerned cut the hot sauce out and use another flavor. I think that you need something there as far as a sauce or seasoning. I'd consider bbq sauce, Italian tomato sauce or even some Italian dressing. This recipe is so adaptable and there are just so many ways you can go depending on the flavors you love. I hope that when you make it, you'll come back and let me know what you decided to use and how it turned out. Good luck and enjoy!

Oh wow, oh wow! We used ranch dressing instead of hot sauce and MAN, is it good! Thanks so much for this recipe. I highly recommend using ranch. It makes it sorta like a casserole version of cheese fries. :)

HOLY COW!!! New family all time fave here! We always order potato skins & buffalo wings for appetizers at restaurants and this combo is soooooooo delicious! Thank you! Can't wait to try some of your other recipes! New fan & follower! I'm gonna link this up on my blog and Facebook! Sheila @ Blissfully Shabby

Hi Cherie, A number of people have commented with alternates for the hot sauce including various BBQ sauces, pasta sauce & ranch sauce, so just think of your family's favorite flavors and take it from there. I hope that you come up with something wonderful and come back to let me know what you did and how it worked out. Enjoy!

I loved this! Thank you so much for this recipe, it is all my favorite foods in one dish-literally! I was worried my 3 year old wouldn't eat it because of the hot sauce, but she loved it, and so did we! I just wrote about how much we loved it on my blog! Thanks again!-Julia @ Sew & Sew 'N Such & Such (sewandsewandsuchandsuch.blogspot.com)

Julia, so happy to hear that this recipe was a success, even with your little one. I tell people that it really isn't that hot and the fact that your 3 year old ate it, sort of shows that. Thanks for sharing the linky love on your blog.

There are many different places depending where you live, check your listings. Some that are local to me include Dinner A'Fare, Super Suppers, Meals by Design, Dinners by the Dozen, Dinners Ready and Dinner Savvy. I hope that you can find a place local to you that will fit your needs.

This is so delicious! I made it for supper the other night for my family. It was a hit! Everyone loved it and we will definitely be having it again soon! One thing we did do is add "buffalo ranch dressing" by Wishbone onto the top after it was cooked. Yum-oh!

I would love it because I love hot sauce on sweet potatoes. Just be sure that your potatoes are fully cooked and nicely browned before adding the chicken and other ingredients. Please come back and let me know how it works out.

Yeah!! Glad that it was a hit with you and the hubby. Thank you too for coming back and sharing your success. Just for note, make the entire recipe next time and freeze the leftovers in either individual or 2 person servings then defrost and heat in the microwave for a quick dinner.

Here I am again! Thanks for the freezing idea....my husband has been begging me to make this again since the last post....so I am making it now! I have told everyone I know about this recipe, your blog and how good it is! Thanks again!

Thank you for coming back again and I'm delighted that you husband loves this so much. Tonight I pulled a single serving that I had frozen and served it to my husband for dinner as it's one of his favorites too. Love an easy from the freezer dinner night!

I pinned this back in March, but never got around to making it, but tonight's the night! :) One question: What size baking pan did you use? I would assume 9x13 but looks like it could also be 11x7. Thanks!

Great dish! I made it for my hubby and kids tonight and they all asked for seconds! It was a bit spicy for us though. Next time I think I'll use half as much hot sauce and the other half ranch dressing like some folks suggested earlier. Thank you!

I do leave the skins on the potatoes but if you prefer, take them off. I wouldn't replace the hot sauce with additional oil but instead use something flavored like BBQ sauce as you want the dish to have flavor. Some commenters have suggested ranch or Italian dressing too. Good luck with whatever adaptation you make.

I made this tonight, it was fabulous! Thank you for this recipe! I decided to cook the chicken in a pan on the stove during the last 15 minutes the potatoes were cooking to speed the process. I also made one more *naughty* tweak, and added sour cream at the same time I added the chicken. ;-) Because, you know, cheese and bacon aren't naughty enough, ha! Thanks again. I linked back to your recipe in my weekly meal plan post here: http://www.thethinkingblonde.com/2012/10/whats-for-dinner-this-week.html

Stupid question of the day: Is the bacon raw or cooked before you put it in the oven? In one pic, it looks raw and then in another it is definitely cooked. Don't want to mess up this awesome looking recipe tonight!!

I took a can of Rotel (mild) and drained the juice into a Ziplock. I tossed the chicken in and threw it in the fridge to marinate. I'll admit - that chicken was in there for a few hours, since I try to prep as much as I can while my daughter is at school.

The tomatoes/chiles/etc in the Rotel.... well, I attacked those with my immersion blender and turned them almost into a paste. I coated the potatoes with that paste mixture, and added in a bit of olive oil. Then I finished according to the directions. Great flavor, but not too spicy.

I was also wondering if anyone had tried this in a crock pot and if so, how did you do it and how did it turn out?

Lisa, your Rotel version sounds delicious, I'll have to give it a try. As far as the crock pot, you'd miss out on the lovely crispy roasted potatoes which I think add so much to the dish. If you do give the crock pot method a try, please let me know the results.

Thank you for finding and making my casserole. The changes you made sound delicious, what a good idea to add the corn and use pepperoni. I really love all the variations that people are coming up with for this recipe. Thanks for posting the recipe and of course for sharing the linky love, it's always appreciated.

This is sooooo very delicious. I found it on Pinterest and knew immediately that I had to make it for my hubby who loves buffalo chicken anything. We were not disappointed! Even my 8-year old twins loved it. Thanks for sharing! I'm excited to try some of your other recipes as well.

I must have done something wrong. My potatoes were so hot that I did not finish the recipe. I am saving the ingredients for tomorrow night. I will start over with the potatoes and use less spices. TBS does mean tablespoon, right? Any suggestions on what went wrong?

I made a little change.I was not comfortable to put a raw chicken on a nice crispy oven rosted potatoes.So I cooked the chicken on the frying pen a little in that marinate.When chicken was no longer pink it was ready to assemble the rest .The cooking process of that dish was also much faster after that change. Inka

I made a little change.I was not comfortable to put a raw chicken on a nice crispy oven rosted potatoes.So I cooked the chicken on the frying pen a little in that marinate.When chicken was no longer pink it was ready to assemble the rest .The cooking process of that dish was also much faster after that change. Inka

I was not comfortable to put a raw chicken on nicely crisp potatoes.So I cooked the chicken in that marinate on the frying pen.Just until was no longer pink.That also cut the cooking process quite a bit and there is no longer a issue of contaminating potatoes with salmonella. Fantastic dish!

I pinned this a while back and finally got around to making it...so glad I did! It was a hit with the whole family, and that is an almost impossible task! I cut back on the hot sauce and used half buffalo wing sauce and half ranch since my family can't handle any heat...it had just a little kick, but not too much. I will definitely be making this again. I was hoping to have some to freeze, but that didn't happen! Thanks for posting!

Thanks for making this and your buffalo ranch sauce mix sounds like a tasty way to cut the heat. I have had to make double batches so that I can freeze some, figure while I'm making it, just as easy to make double. Enjoy!

I love this recipe. I must have made it every week for well over a month. I have had several weeks off and am making it again tonight! Can't wait!If people are having trouble with the chicken not cooking in 15 minutes they should cut it into smaller pieces. I make my bacon in the oven while I am cutting up the potatoes too.The recipe is perfect! Just try it out people, listen to Lisa!!I tell everyone about it too, it is almost embarrassing I have the recipe memorized but who cares!!

I have made this twice now and LOVE IT! I used a hot wing sauce the first time and my husband (who doesn't like his food as spicy as I do) thought it was too hot so this time I used 4 TBSP mild wing sauce and 2 TBSP of hot and it was perfect for him. I just added more hot sauce to mine on my plate. It was perfect for him and I still got my hot wing flavour. I have never heard of cooking potatoes (or anything else for that matter) in such a hot oven but now I do it all the time! I love how the potatoes turned out!

Thanks Bobbi-Jo, so glad that you enjoy this dish and that you found a solution so that everyone gets the heat they enjoy. I love cooking my potatoes on high heat, they get so deliciously crispy! Thanks for letting me know how much you've enjoyed this dish.

This recipe is now a favorite in our house. I've done it WITH chicken and withOUT chicken. The chicken keeps the dish nice and moist. It's a bit crunchier without chicken.

If I'm making it without chicken I usually have it as a side dish with grilled kielbasa. After putting the potatoes in the oven I use the leftover sauce for my cut up kielbasa and let it sit till the casserole is almost done. Then the 'basa gets grilled. I prep a green veggie or homemade cole slaw and it's a SCRUMPTIOUS meal!

And by the way, the this sauce has become what I use for barbeque sauce whenever I need it. If you'd like it thicker, just add ketchup.

This recipe is now a favorite in our house. I've done it WITH chicken and withOUT chicken. The chicken keeps the dish nice and moist. It's a bit crunchier without chicken.

If I'm making it without chicken I usually have it as a side dish with grilled kielbasa. After putting the potatoes in the oven I use the leftover sauce for my cut up kielbasa and let it sit till the casserole is almost done. Then the 'basa gets grilled. I prep a green veggie or homemade cole slaw and it's a SCRUMPTIOUS meal!

And by the way, the this sauce has become what I use for barbeque sauce whenever I need it. If you'd like it thicker, just add ketchup.

I just tried this and it was so tasty! I had to leave out the hot sauce since I have family who doesn't like spicy food but it was still amazing. I will definitely make this again. Thank you so much for sharing!

I love this recipe and it is in my weekly rotation! I'm a Pampered Chef consultant and re-blogged on my business website! www.facebook.com/pamperedchefmelanieb Follow me for weekly recipes, FB only specials, food tips and giveaways!

Has anyone tried to cook part of the recipe ahead of time? By the time I get home from work I only have 30 mins to get dinner on the table. Maybe cook the potatoes ahead then top with chicken and toppings when you get home? If so, what was your cooking time and temp? Thanks

I seriously could not bring myself to add 6 TBLS Hot Sauce... so instead of leaving it out completely. I used 2 and I didn't have Garlic Powder so I used Garlic Salt. Even with 2 TBLS Hot Sauce it was almost too much for me... my husband had 3 helpings of it but told me that I could leave the hot sauce out completely next time :) It smelled amazing and it was very good... I will be making this again! I posted my modified recipe on my blog http://michelestubbe.blogspot.com/2013/03/loaded-potato-chicken-casserole.html and linked back to your site. Thank you for sharing!

We just got done eating this....my nose is running! Probably due to the fact that all I had was Habanero hot sauce. :) Very, very, very good though. Next time, I will make it with regular hot sauce. Or ranch, like other people have done. :)